In the Middle East, Dubai International (DXB) remained second on OAG’s list with more than 5.34 million seats—less than 100,000 behind Atlanta—and recorded a 3% rise from August 2024. Istanbul Airport (IST) rose two positions to fourth place following a significant 7% increase in seat numbers this month. Turkish Airlines recently conducted Europe’s first triple departure at Istanbul International—a move praised by Turkey's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadier Uraloglu: "Istanbul Airport has risen to the top tier of global aviation—not only with its traffic volume but also in terms of operational capacity and technical capability. With this system, air traffic flow will accelerate, the dynamic capacity of our airport will significantly increase, and we will offer our passengers faster and safer service.”
Among European airports outside Istanbul, London Heathrow (LHR) was the only facility included among the global top ten for August 2025 with over 4.5 million seats offered throughout the month. In December 2024, Heathrow introduced an aircraft separation system called Pairwise designed by National Air Traffic Services to improve punctuality and reduce emissions by grouping departing aircraft based on their characteristics.
Heathrow continues attracting new airlines despite high demand for slots at off-peak times. Recent reports indicate that Air Peace is expanding operations into Terminal 3 while Alaska Air launched Seattle-Heathrow flights earlier this month; future services are expected from Riyadh Air and IndiGo pending confirmation.
Asian representation includes Tokyo Haneda (HND), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), and Guangzhou Baiyun International (CAN). Tokyo Haneda maintained identical seat numbers as last year while serving as a major hub for All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines’ domestic operations due to its proximity to central Tokyo.
Shanghai Pudong is set to launch what could become one of aviation's longest one-stop routes later this year when China Eastern introduces flights connecting Shanghai-Auckland-Buenos Aires—a revival after Air New Zealand ceased Auckland-Buenos Aires service in 2020.
Guangzhou Baiyun climbed two spots after opening its fourth runway in February; it is now Greater Bay Area's sole four-runway airport supporting carriers like China Southern Airways—which inaugurated service on the new runway—as well as FedEx and others.
On cargo operations worldwide—according to Airports Council International data reported by Simple Flying—Hong Kong International led globally by processing over four million tonnes during 2023; Cathay Pacific handled nearly one-third of that total due to Hong Kong's role linking Asia-Pacific trade routes (https://simpleflying.com/hong-kong-busiest-cargo-airport/). Memphis International followed but saw declines versus prior years primarily because of FedEx volume drops (https://simpleflying.com/memphis-cargo-traffic-decline/). Shanghai Pudong ranked third after notable gains while Anchorage Ted Stevens posted steady increases thanks partly to transpacific connections (https://simpleflying.com/anchorage-cargo-growth/). Seoul Incheon rounded out the top five as a base for Asiana and Korean Air freighters.
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